Scorpion's Sting
by Neo Emolga
Summary: She thought it was over until one day, an attack on her school changed everything. Taken prisoner AGAIN, she's torture for information about an MI6 agent, but when she meets her cellmates, she knows that they have a chance of making it out alive… Rated T. EaglexOC. Involves K-Unit.
1. K-Unit Reunited

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider, I only own OC Gwendolyn Rider.**

**Full Summary: It was over. Her life was finally back to normal. She wasn't a spy anymore, but she didn't have her brother or Jack anymore. Alex had left the go live in the US with his girlfriend, Sabina Pleasure, and her family. She had chosen to stay where she was in the UK. MI6 hadn't called for missions in a while. She thought it was over until one day, an attack on her school changed everything. Taken prisoner AGAIN, she's torture for information about an MI6 agent, but when she meets her cellmates, she knows that they have a chance of making it out alive…**

**Chapter One**

Always keep your guard up. That's the most important lesson that soldiers and spies learn. One of the few things they are always paranoid about. Gwendolyn Rider could have kicked herself for failing to do so. Just because she was no longer a working agent for MI6 did not mean there weren't still some old enemies out there that didn't want both her and her brother dead still. Of course, they had never been as forward as they had been today. Previous capture attempts had never been so blatantly done.

As she lay on the surprisingly clean bed in the somewhat filthy cell staring up at the ceiling she could remember how the day had begun like any other ever since her life as a spy had ended.

"_C'mon Gwen, we need to hurry or we'll be late for French class."_

_Gwendolyn grinned, her brown eyes shining. "Yeah, yeah, I know Mandy."_

"_Well, come on then, we don't need another detention," Mandy joked with a grin. Then we'd beat out Alex and Tom's record."_

"_Already?"_

"_Yeah, already, you're late to French a lot. And chemistry. And -"_

_The alarm suddenly began blaring and Mandy froze. "Isn't that -"_

"_The alarm they put in after Scorpia shot at the school," Gwen finished grimly, remembering the events from nearly eight months before when Scorpia had taken shots at the school - namely at her and her brother Alex - but they had missed them, hitting Alex's friend Tom, who ended up recovering. Afterwards, the school had put in alarms to alert them to gunmen and other dangers besides a fire alarm._

"_There's a gunman?" Mandy's voice shook slightly. _

_A familiar tingle crawled up Gwen's spine. "No, I think it's worse than a gunman. Come on."_

_She grabbed Mandy's wrist and began dragging her best friend - the only person besides Tom and Alex who knew she was a spy - to somewhere they could safely hide. She glanced around a corner cautiously before quickly pulling back with a soft curse, dragging Mandy toward a nearby janitor's closet. She opened the door and pushed Mandy in._

"_Stay here," Gwen ordered. "Don't move until either a teacher or the police find you."_

"_What's going on?" Mandy asked. "Gwen?"_

"_Just some old friends," Gwen replied grimly, closing the door. _

_With a deep breath she turned and ran back to where she had see people around the corner. "Hey, meathead!"_

_The man looked up, gun in his hand. His cold blue eyes met her hard brown ones and he smirked. _

"_Well, if it isn't little Gwendolyn."_

_She smirked and turned, taking off. She heard the gun fire behind her, but the bullet whizzed by her shoulder, not striking her at all. She ran for the stairwell, knowing next time he shot, he would most likely hit her. Apparently, they had expected that reaction, because as soon as she entered the stairwell, a hand grabbed her and cloth found its way over her mouth and nose._

Damn, _she thought as she struggled against the strong hold. _Why do bad guys always have to use chloroform?

_Then the darkness had engulfed her._

A commotion outside the cell brought her to her sense as she sat up, watching as two guards went by her cell, dragging a badly injured man between then. The man had various wounds, they looked like knife wounds, and there was an injury to his head that was bleeding. His sandy blonde hair was nearly brown and knotted with blood.

"Hey!" she protested as they roughly threw him into a cell down the hall. "What did you do to him? Who is he?"

They didn't answer of course, but one of them did shoot her a smirk.

"Damnit!" another voice growled. "They really did a number on him."

"Hello?" she asked hesitantly. "Who's there?"

Whoever spoke hesitated before replying gruffly. "It's rude to ask someone's name without giving yours first."

The growl in his voice sounded familiar, but she figured if his friend was hurt then they were prisoners, too. It wasn't surprising, but she had seen the injured man's uniform. He was dressed like an SAS soldier, but she couldn't remember if she had met him during her brief time Brecon Beacons. He was too banged up to tell.

"Gwen."

There was a pause. "Derek.

"And the one who's hurt?"

"Matt."

"Derek, rip your shirt. I need something to wraps his head with."

Gwen's tilted her head at the third voice, and she heard a soft ripping noise. "Who was that?"

Derek answered her. "That was James. He's got medical training."

"Matt was dressed in an SAS uniform."

"You know what it looks like?"

"Well, yeah." Gwen hesitated. "I'm a spy. For MI6. Or I was."

She shouldn't be telling them that but screw it, she wasn't a spy anymore. It didn't matter if she told them.

"You?" she could hear the soft snort, followed by James's soft scolding.

"Well, I'm not anymore. Retired, in a way, but I certainly wasn't on Scorpia's good side."

"That's who these guys are?" Derek's question took her by surprise.

"You didn't know?"

"No, they just noticed us as SAS and grabbed us for something," James took over. "Said they were going to use us healthy soldiers for some testing. They've also questioned us about MI6, which might be why they grabbed you. We're soldiers, not spies; we don't know much of anything that would interest them."

"Getting to know your cell mates, Rider?" a voice mocked.

Gwen's eyes shot to the door just to the left of her cell, where Michael, a boy she had met at Malagosto when training there with Alex at Scorpia, stood, smirking at her. There were three guards with him, and all of them were armed with guns.

"Do you really need all that brawn for little ol' me?" Gwen pouted, batting her lashes mockingly at Michael. "Well, you always were a little weakling Mike."

"Alex isn't here to save your ass anymore, Gwendolyn; I wouldn't mouth off if I were you."

One of the guards opened the cell and the other two pointed there guns at her.

"Come with us," Door-Opener said as he grabbed her arm roughly.

Her instincts kicked in, her foot shooting out to catch him in the gut. The breath whooshed out of him as she yanked her arm back, ready to deliver a punch, but a bullet whizzed by, grazing her arm. She bit back a yelp at the sudden sting as a second guard quickly grabbed her, twisting her arms behind her back.

"Let go!" she snarled, trying to slam her head back into his face, but his grip held firm.

"Must you be difficult?" Michael asked, exasperated. "Well, you won't be feeling so feisty once we're done with you."

As the guard yanked her out of her cell, her eyes wandered down, she could just barely make out two men, watching her been taken. She heard one murmur 'she's a child', as she was dragged out the door. A child. It'd been awhile since anyone had called her that. Bratty teenager, she'd heard that from a teacher who she didn't like. Super spy, well, that was when she worked for MI6, but child… it made her seem innocent, and she wasn't.

The room Michael and the goons brought her too was well lit, and it blinded her momentarily. She could feel her arms being tied around something and her chest was pressed against what felt like a metal pole. She tried to pull back, but her arms were too tightly bound. She heard the sound of fabric tearing and realized one of the men was cutting off her shirt with a knife, revealing her sports bra underneath.

She heard the whistle, and barely had time to prepare herself for the pain before the whip cut painfully into the skin on her shoulder. She bit the inside of her mouth to hold back a gasp of pain as the whip cracked again.

"Tell us what MI6 has sent Agent Daniels undercover for."

Agent Daniels?

_Ben._

The realization hit her and the same moment the whip did one more. She gritted her teeth together and glared at the wall with determination. She had no idea what Ben's mission was, but even if she knew, she wasn't going to tell them anything. Michael asked again, and when she didn't answer the whip hit her again, three times in quick succession. She could feel the burn of tears in her eyes, but fought them back. Michael would not make her cry. He wouldn't make her break. He wouldn't make her beg. She wouldn't tell him a damn thing.

One, two, three, four… she lost count of how many times the whip hit her once they reached one hundred and forty. Her back was numb now; she barely felt the hits anymore. Michael growled and threw the whip down in frustration.

"She's done for the day," he growled at the guard before walking around.

Her eyes lifted to meet his, and a smirk settled upon her lips.

"I won't break," she swore. "Know why? Because I know it pisses you off that I don't. And that's just enough to keep me from losing it."

He didn't even register what he was doing before his boot connected with the side of her face. Her eyes were flat, and she didn't seem phased by the kick, and that only pissed him off more.

"Take her to her cell," he spat at the guard then paused. "No, toss her in with the medic. Wouldn't want her damn wounds getting infected. Then she'd die before we learn what she knows."

Her hands were unbound and she was pulled out. Her legs nearly gave out from under her, but the guard grabbed her arms and began dragging her back to where they came from. Her eyes drifted around as they took her back, memorizing every turn, every corner, every path they didn't go down, trying to plot out as much of the building in her mind as she could.

Being a spy was like riding a bike, the skills never really left you, even if they dulled slightly. One guard pulled his gun after opening the cell door where the soldiers were. Gwen caught sight of a bowl, a rag, and a bottle of water being tossed unceremoniously into the cage. She heard a clatter, and then someone picked up the bowl and water - he must have caught the rag before it hit the ground. Then she was tossed in - rather roughly, but warm calloused hand caught her before she hit the ground.

The cell door slammed closed behind her and she heard the lock being locked once more before the guard left.

"Damn," the man who caught her cursed. Derek. "They did a number on her. What does that look like to you?"

"A whip," James muttered as he filled the bowl with water, dipping the rag into it. "Hold her steady. Gwen, is it?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, eyes closed.

"This is going to sting a bit," he warned before pressing the cloth against one of the wounds.

Bloody _hell _that hurt! She flinched away instinctively, but James the medic was undeterred as he calmly cleaned the whip wounds with a steady hand.

"How many times did they strike you?" he asked.

Gwen mumbled, but her eyes shot open when he shook her shoulder.

"Tell me," he ordered.

She seemed to snap to at the order, a little bit of focus coming back into her eyes. "I lost count around a hundred and forty."

James frowned and she stared at him. That black hair was familiar, as was the green, watchful eyes. Had she met him at BB when she was there? Her eyes traveled to Matt, the injured one, who was asleep on one of only two beds in the room. He looked familiar, even in his unconscious state. Finally her eyes drifted up to look at the face of Derek - the man holding her steady.

"Shit!" she muttered, eyes widening. "Wolf!"

She glanced down at her, looking startled. The eyes, they gave her away. He knew those eyes.

"Pup?" he asked softly, looking somewhat surprised.

It made sense now. James was a medic - Snake without a doubt, and Matt… Here eyes traveled back to him.

"Eagle," she whispered, remember the code name of the youngest member of K-Unit who had been only twenty one when she had seen him almost two years before when she had been fourteen. Now he had to be nearing at least twenty-four, as she was close to a seventeenth birthday. He looked beaten up now, and much younger.

"Pup?" Snake asked, snapping her out of the daze. "Your wounds are clean, but I don't have anything I can wrap them with. "

She winced. Looks like they would have to keep the wounds cleaned as they healed otherwise they would get infected. She wasn't looking forward to the next few days. She was a restless person; she knew she'd reopen them quite often. Snake would probably knock her out until they healed if he had any idea.

"Wait, you're a spy?" Snake asked incredulously as he and Wolf carried her to spare bed, carefully laying her on her stomach.

"Yeah," she winced, adjusting slightly to get comfortable.

"How on earth did you become a spy? I thought you were just -"

"Some rich brat who wanted to play soldier with her brother?" Gwen asked with a sarcastic smile. "Yeah, that was a lie. Alex and I were there for training for a mission the MI6 wanted us to do."

"Should you be telling us this?" Wolf asked, raising a brow.

"Eh, why not," Gwen shrugged and then cursed at the pain that caused. "I don't work for them anymore, the bastards."

A soft snort came from the bed across from her as Eagle carefully lifted himself into a sitting position.

"Matt, lay down," Snake ordered.

Eagle waved him off. "Why's Pup here? And what's this about her being a spy?"

"You didn't hear wrong, my bird-brained friend," Gwen said with a smile. "Cub and I are spies. Dun dun dun."

"Wanna tell us how?"

"Eh, long story.'

"We can make a game out of it."

Gwen was just bored enough to agree. Plus it would piss off Michael if he were watching and saw they weren't taken his threats seriously, even though they were. "Alright. How about something like two truths and a lie. I tell two truths and a lie, and if you manage to guess the lie correctly on the first try, I will tell a little part of the story. But, only the part of the story concerning one of the truths. And you guys get to pick which truth you want to hear the story behind."

Eagle grinned. "Okay."

Snake nodded and while Wolf looked bored he seemed somewhat interested.

"Okay. Two truths and a lie. One, I was recruited by MI6 after my uncle's murder. Two, I was nearly assassinated. Three, I jumped off a cliff on one mission."

"The assass-" Eagle began but Snake stopped him, eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"The cliff's the lie." Snake guessed.

'Right-o, congratulations," Gwen smiled. "So, what story do you want?"

"Who tried to kill you?" Wolf demanded.

"Scorpia. It was one of the few missions Alex and I shared together. Well, it wasn't a mission at first… But let's just say that in the end, we ended up killing one of their higher up - on accident by crushing her with a hot air balloon that Alex accidentally landed on her - and well, they didn't like us very much after that. They tried to have us killed with a sniper, but Alex had been stepping off a curb when he was shot and the bullet missed. He grabbed at me as he fell, and pulled me down enough that I was lucky enough that the bullet the second assassin fire at me missed as well, if only by inches. His missed by a centimeter or so, if I remember correctly."

Eagle frowned. "Next one."

"Hm… One, I've met the assassin Yassen Gregorovich and he knew my father. Two, Alex and I trained with Scorpia at one point. Three, I killed a -"

"That's a lie, you've never killed anyone," Wolf said, cutting her off. "You can tell by looking at you."

Her eyes met his. "Not true, I have killed, but that was a lie, because I was going to say I killed an ex-spy hell-bent on taking over Britain."

Wolf opened his mouth, most likely to pick what truth he wanted to know about, but Eagle beat him to it.

"You know Yassen?" he asked.

And so the game continued, until K-Unit knew almost everything about her time as a spy. Some things shocked them, other infuriated them. And as Gwendolyn's eyes closed from exhaustion at what she had endured that day, she heard Wolf muttering about how MI6 would be damned before they would come near her again. He would speak to Ben and they'd make sure of it. A smile quirked at her lips as she fell into sleep.

There wasn't much they could do to stop MI6 if they ever needed her again, and she may just go back. If today was any indication, the world of espionage would never leave her life.

**-SS-**

The sound of the cell door opening is what woke Gwen. She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep, but she knew she had moved in her sleep, she could feel the blood dripping from one of the cuts. She glanced tiredly toward the door, eyes hardening when Michael stepped in. He snorted when he saw her. The guards had their guns pointed at Snake and Wolf, deeming Eagle unfit to attack in his state, and obviously they didn't think she would try anything either.

"Ready to talk yet, Gwendolyn?"

She carefully pushed herself into a sitting position, eyes narrowing when a guard nearly turned his gun to her instead. He obviously rethought that decision and kept it trained on Snake. Michael was standing in front of her now, looking down at her condescendingly.

She spat in his face.

"You little -" the back of his hand cut across her face. Her head jerked to the side and she heard Wolf growl threateningly.

She turned her head and looked back up at him. "Go to hell, Mike."

Her glowered at her and grabbed her arm, yanking her up from the bed. "I'd rethink your answer."

Her back hit the filthy wall and she let out a small gasp of pain. Michael smirked.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" he asked sympathetically. "It will hurt a lot worse if you don't tell me about Agent Daniels's mission."

She glared at him and said nothing.

"No? Too bad, then." He yanked her from against the wall and into the arms of a guard. "Time for round two."

Her whole body protested. Had it been a day already? She didn't feel like she'd slept that long. It was easy to see from the way Wolf and Snake glanced at the worriedly as she was taken away that she must have looked like a cage angel. Like a dangerous tiger prowling back and forth behind the bars, waiting for a chance to strike. The chance would come, it always did, she just had to be patient and endure until then.

He didn't use the whip this time. This time he merely picked up a syringe and walked over to her with a smirk before sticking it in her arm. She didn't flinch at the intrusion of the needle. A few seconds later her stomach revolted and her body jolted as she retched on the floor, her stomach twisting and burning in pain.

So it was poison this time. Most likely nothing serious, just something to make her ill and cause discomfort and pain. It worked. It hurt like hell, but he was still delusional if he thought she would say something.

_Think of something else, _she ordered herself, and fell into some of her favorite memories from growing up. Birthdays, the joy she would feel when her Uncle Ian returned home, albeit battered and bruised. The joy of meeting Jack. Jack becoming her and Alex's guardian. Jack's death… Don't think of that. She thought of Alex, the grin, the mischievous look he would get when plotting pranks with Tom. The confusion over Ian's death. Alex's first mission again Sayle. Her own first mission undercover posing as a rich man's daughter. The anger she felt when Alex went to Point Blanc alone. The happiness when he came out alive.

Oh no, she wouldn't break. Not for Scorpia.

By the time the poison had run its course, she was exhausted. But she could still look at Michael with that superior gleam to her eyes. He hated how she thought, even on her knees in her own vomit, that she was better than him. He growled and delivered a swift kick to her ribs, satisfied when she drew in a sharp breath. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Such a pretty young girl shouldn't be involved in such dangerous work," he said softly. "Tell me what I want to know, Gwen, and I'll let you go to live your life."

She held back a snort. So he was going to resort to flirting? She had never been good at flirting her way out of bad situations, and even if she could do it, not even the world's biggest diamond would make her flirt with Michael.

"Really?" she said softly, eyes softening for a moment. He smiled victoriously and then seconds later her forehead slammed into his nose.

She smirked at hearing the crack, and satisfaction swelled inside her.

"TAKE HER TO HER CELL!" he snarled, grabbing his nose. "Rough her up a bit first, and then toss her worthless ass into the cell!"

The guard's hauled her up. Her eyes met Michael's.

"I will always be better than you," she whispered.

If it was the last thing he did, he would see her dead.

**_A/N: Hey guys, Neo Sylveon here with the first official story of this account! Yes, I know Alex did not have a sister, I created her. For some reason, I find Alex himself incredibly difficult to write about - he's a complex character that I don't completely understand, so I molded Gwen. She's flexible, haha. Hope you enjoy the story and stick with Gwen through her journey._**

**_Remember to drop a review! _**

**_~NS_**


	2. Escape and the Joys of RTI

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Alex Rider series, I merely own my OC Gwendolyn Rider**

**Chapter Two**

Gwen paced back and forth anxiously in the cell, glancing up at every noise. Looking at her from a camera, as one guard was currently doing, you wouldn't be able to tell she was anxious. The way she prowled back and forth made her look both bored and dangerously angry. Her eyes were flat, but a frown adorned her soft face. Early that morning, a guard had arrived and taken away Wolf. Two hours after that, Eagle and Snake were both taken away.

Three hours later, none of them had been brought back and Gwen was beginning to worry. She sighed and sat down on one of the beds, staring at the wall.

One crack, two cracks, three cracks… Damn, there were only three cracks. She stood and started prowling in front of the bars once more. At one point, she thought she heard an angry shout, and he heard a noise, a boom that sounded ominously like a gun going off. She didn't linger on the thoughts, and if she gave the gunshot any thought, she simply hoped one of the three soldiers had shot one of the bastards holding them captive.

The door at the end of the hall clanged open.

"Back," a guard ordered, pointing his gun at her.

She reluctantly obliged, backing against the wall as another guard opened the door, tossing in another rag and some bottles of water. A third guard shoved Eagle into the room. Gwen caught the soldier as he fell, receiving a weak 'thank you'. She smiled sadly and helped him to the bed as the guards left. His back was in shreds. Looks like Michael had used the whip on him again. She frowned, examining the edges. Pouring the water in the bowl that Snake still using to clean wounds, she dipping the rag in and gently cleaned at the jagged edge of skin.

Eagle winced, instinctively moving away.

"What the hell?" Gwen murmured. "Did he - he dipped the whip in poison?"

"Is that what that weird green stuff was?" Eagle asked weakly. "Oh. I guess so, then."

Gwen scowled. She was going to kill Michael.

"Down, Tiger," Eagle joked softly.

Gwen's lips twitched, fighting back a smile as she gently cleaned up the wounds. "Snake could have done better - he's the medic. But I think I got them all. Can't do anything about the poison, it's probably in you system already."

"That explains why my stomach's killing me."

"Rest, Eagle," she said softly.

He nodded and laid down on his stomach. It wasn't long before he was asleep, soft snores echoing in the quiet cell. Gwen watched him for a moment before gently brushing some hair back from his face. A sheen of sweet was beginning to appear there, making her frown. Would it be the same poison Michael had given her four days before - Wolf had roughly calculated that she'd been there for five days - or would be something weaker? Something stronger? She didn't know, she wasn't an expert in poisons - none of them were.

_If I get out of this alive, I'll learn about them, _she swore to herself before going to sit on the other bed.

"Gwendolyn."

She looked up, glaring at Michael, but the man standing behind her - a man she'd seen only twice before - caused her eyes to widen and she flinched, her eyes showing the first signs of fear since she had been captured.

"Yes, I thought he would get your attention," Michael smirked. "Seeing as you're being so… difficult, I thought it best to bring in an old friend. You remember Ikuto, don't you?"

How could she not? Ikuto was one of the world's leading experts in all forms of torture. She'd had the _pleasure _of being one of his test subjects on two separate missions, each time having been tortured worse than the last. Ikuto smirked at her. She supposed, had she not known the horrors he could cause, that most girls her age would find him cute. He was only twenty-three, and yet than man was crueler than anything she had ever seen.

"_Yorokobi, itsumo no yō ni, Gū~endorin._"

"A pleasure indeed, Ikuto," she snarled, eyeing her warily.

Ikuto's eyes lit up with a gleam that Gwen had come to learn would always bring great pain. "Get her. Bring her to the room."

The guard opened the cell door after Ikuto had left - most likely to prepare his latest torture - and walked in. The idiot didn't even reach for his weapon. That was his mistake.

She struck quickly, like a snake, ducking his arms and delivering a harsh blow to the base of his neck that sent him crumbling. She heard Michael curse and reach for his gun about the same time as she yanked the guard's gun from his holster and released the safety. She leveled her gun at him at the same time his leveled at her.

"You won't shoot," Michael sneered. "You never could bring yourself to hit fatal spots on the target."

She lowered the gun and shot him in the knee. The scream that come from his mouth sounded more animal, than human.

"Don't have to."

She slammed the butt of the gun down against his head and turned. Eagle stood weakly, having woken at the commotion. He hobbled over to her and she let his arm fall across his shoulder, supporting his weight as she carefully led him around the fallen guard and the unconscious Michael. She paused for a brief second before delivering a swift kick to Michael's face while he was down, glaring at her for only a moment before the pair continued on their way. She kept the gun gripped firmly in her right hand, Eagle to her left, and her senses alert. She avoided the turns that she knew would take her to the torture, but was surprised to round a corner and see a gun pointed in her face.

"Well. And I thought we were friends."

Snake lowered the gun. "Sorry."

Wolf snorted softly and moved to take Eagle from her. She let him - Eagle was bloody heavy. "Whatever you feed him, stop. He's heavy."

Eagle gave a soft whine.

Snake looked around. "I guess we need to back track."

Gwen nodded. "No exits from where we came from."

Her eyes trailed to the T at the end of the hall. There were two paths they could take down there, but who knew where they would lead.

"The one on the left leads to a pool," Wolf growled softly.

Gwen nodded. "Right it is, then."

As quietly as they could, the group of four made their way down the hall, taking to hall to their right when they reached the end. After a few minutes of walking - how big was this freaking place? - Wolf caught sight of a door at the end of another hallway. You could see the outside through the window. Gwen grinned and hurried for the door, pushing it open as Wolf carried Eagle out. Snake came last, eyes looking around cautiously.

"I don't suppose you know how to hotwire a car?" Wolf asked Snake, glancing at the numerous vehicles.

Snake shook his head.

"Don't look at me," Gwen said with a shrug. "I could barely get MI6 to teach me to drive, let alone how to hot wire a car. I wish my brother were here, he probably knows how."

There was a movement just in the corner of her eye that had her turning and firing the gun instinctively. The guard that had been sneaking toward them slumped to the ground. She frowned - she hadn't killed him, thankfully - and searched his pockets. No keys.

"Better start walking," she said as she stood. "That shot will attract attention."

Eagle was staring at her. "You just shot him without even thinking about it."

Gwen shifted her feet uncomfortably.

A shout came from behind them.

"Go!" Snake ordered. Wolf growled and heaved Eagle over his shoulder, much to the younger man's protests and took off running for the tree line. Snake turned and fired two shots before following. Gwen on his heels. She reached the tree line just as a bullet hit the tree next to her. She turned, finger pressing down on the trigger, shooting one of the men in the knee just as she had Michael. A sharp pain bloomed in her right shoulder. She fired three more shots before turning to follow K-Unit. Another two shots. One hit her back, the other her leg.

She grit her teeth, and forced herself to keep running, though she had an odd feeling. The next thing she knew, she was on the ground and Snake was over her, speaking rapidly. When he received no answer from the nearly unconscious teen, he cursed and picked her up before taking off running after Wolf and Eagle. They walked for four hours before they stopped and Snake was able to wrap her wounds - he didn't try to remove the bullets that would have to wait - and then it was another day before they reached a town. Wolf called his Sergeant and the group was immediately picked up from wherever the hell they were and taken to St. Dominic's hospital.

"Knock, knock."

Gwen grinned. "Matt!"

Eagle grinned as he walked into the room. His wounds had been stitched up - and apparently he was as bad as her at following the 'stay in bed' orders from the doctors, who had ordered all four of them not to move from our beds and to rest.

"You're going to get in trouble."

"Nah," Eagle grinned as he sat in the chair next to her bed, kicking his feet up to rest in her lap.

She laughed and shoved his feet off. "Oh no. No shoes on my lap. Who knows what they've stepped in."

Wolf snorted as he walked in the room, Snake right behind him.

"Seriously? Why is my room the meeting place? Why couldn't we all meet in Snake's room?"

"Because _you_," Snake stressed, sending her a look. "Are not getting up until those whip and bullet wounds are healed."

"Oh, but you lot can all get up and waltz around the hospital with horrible injuries but I can't."

"Exactly," Wolf growled.

"Pretty much."

"How is that even -"

"Gwen?"

Gwen grinned widely. "Ben!"

Ben smiled. "How you doing, kid?"

"Good, but why are you here?"

"MI6 has made me your guardian."

"Why?"

"Well, I don't work for them anymore, I'm going back to SAS," Ben explained. "They weren't happy when I told them that, but then I told Jones that if she didn't let me go, I'd tell the world about you and Alex. Also, as your guardian, they can't use you for mission. If you wish, once you're eighteen, you can do them if you want."

"And while you lot are at BB, I can stay by myself?" Gwen asked with a grin.

"Not even close, Pup, you'll be coming back with us, per the Sergeant's orders," Ben chuckled when she groaned.

"I really hate that place," she mumbled. "Do I have to? Why can't I stay with Mandy or another friend?"

Ben shook his head. "That's the first time I have ever heard you sound like a normal teenager. But no, you have to go with us. For your protection if nothing else. Scorpia is still rebuilding, and they still have it out for you. The CIA is looking out for Alex, though he insists he can care for himself."

Gwendolyn sighed. "Fine. If I have to go back to BB, then I will."

"You have to," Wolf and Fox said at the same time before grinning at each other.

A week later, Gwen was glad to be going back to Brecon Beacons - something she never thought she would say - but anything was better than staying in that bloody hospital for one more minutes. She was ready to strangle the nurse with her IV.

_Now, I really want to strangle Dingo._

Dingo was a member of L-Unit, and he appeared to have a huge problem with her being Brecon Beacons. Not that it bothered Gwen any that he didn't like her being there. If he wanted to be a baby about her presence there then let him be, it wasn't any skin off her nose. She had ignored the glares from him and the rest of L-Unit as she walked into the mess hall with K-Unit the next day. She grimaced at the gray slop on her plate - oh how she had missed SAS food.

"Hey, Princess."

She stiffened and heard Fox snort.

"Someone's gonna get beat up," Eagle sing-songed while Snake and Wolf exchanged grins.

Needless to say, Dingo walked back to his unit with gray slop covering his face while Gwen stole half of Eagle's breakfast since hers had somehow accidentally been shoved in in Dingo's face.

"What's on the schedule for today?" Fox asked, looking to Wolf.

"Assault course," Wolf grumbled.

"Did anyone ever beat Cub's time?" Gwen wondered curiously.

"Yes, but just barely. Sixteen and a half minutes even. Why?" Snake asked.

"So I can beat them and reclaim the title for my brother."

"Full of yourself, are you?" Wolf snorted.

She managed to keep pace with them for almost half of the course before she started to drop back. She hadn't been this winded in a long time. But then again, after a close to a year of no missions to help keep her in shape… She kept her breathing somewhat even as she fell back to run next to Eagle.

"Not so easy, huh?" the man next to her panted.

Her leg shot out and sent him face first into the mud. She laughed and picked up speed again, joining Wolf, Fox, and Snake at the end of the course, who were all laughing at Eagle as he brushed mud from his face.

"I'll get you for that."

"Sure you will, bird-brain," Gwen smiled at him encouragingly.

Life was normal - well, as normal as it could possibly be for a sixteen year old ex-spy training with her old unit who hated her at the SAS. Not to forget the evil terrorist organization that wanted her and her brother dead and probably wouldn't stop until they were dancing on the graves of Gwendolyn and Alex Rider.

**-SS-**

A week later, Gwen was dragged from bed in the middle of the night. Her eyes widened and she could feel the panic rising. Was it Scorpia? She didn't know. Her captors said nothing and soon she was tossed into a room. She took a shuddering breath and nearly leapt out of her skin when a hand touched her shoulder.

"Easy, Pup," Eagle said when she lashed out to hit him. "It's only RTI."

Wolf growled, and Snake was patching up a busted lip on Fox.

"Stupid Green Jackets," Gwen snarled under her breath. Green Jackets hated the SAS, because they were the best, and so they always loved RTI training, it was one time they could torture the SAS units. Many Green Jackets were people who hated made it into the SAS and they hated the SAS for that, everyone else, well, they just hated everyone.

Gwen pushed herself to her feet and began walking around the building they were being held in.

"What are you doing?" Eagle asked.

"Looking for a way out."

"We already looked," Snake said. "No man-holes this time. No way for any of us, even you, to get out."

Gwen frowned. "Looks like they learned not to underestimate even the youngest and smallest of the units."

"I still can't believe Cub went down that man-hole," Eagle said after a few minutes of silence.

Half an hour later the Green Jackets came and took Snake away to been tortured. It would probably be as harsh as anything an enemy could do, especially with how much the Green Jackets hated the SAS. Gwen paced and paced. It seemed as if hours had passed before Snake was tossed back in, bruised and slightly bloody. A hand clamped down on her shoulder and she reacted, flipping the man onto his back. It seemed to take him by surprise, but she was quickly taken down by two of his friends who had to literally drag her from the room and she kicked and tried to lash out at them.

Her hands was tied to a chair, hands bounds behind her back as the Green Jackets circled around her like sharks. Her lip curled in disgust as she watched them.

"What's your name?"

"Pup."

The fist connected with her cheek. "What is your real name?"

"Fuck you."

She didn't even wince when the Green Jacket pulled out a knife and ran the sharp point lightly along her cheek.

"Your name?"

"Sparkly Fairy Princess," she said sarcastically, biting back a gasp when the knife slashed, slightly deeper, across the other cheek.

"What about your teammates?" the man asked. "What are their names?"

She glared at him.

"It's ready."

The Green Jacket smirked and pulled her up from the seat, but her hands were still bound. He shoved her into what appeared like a bathroom. And the tub was filled with ice water.

"What. Is. Your. Name?" the Jacket asked again.

Gwen said nothing and barely managed a quick gulp of breath before her head was shoved into the icy water. Holding her breath was hard, for unlike Alex none of her captors had ever tried to drown her before. After a couple of minutes, she was pulled back out and she coughed, gasping for breath.

"Feel like sharing, Princess?"

She glared at him and spat something at him in Japanese.

The man looked at his teammate when he snorted. "What did she say?"

"To go fuck yourself in your own ass."

The Jacket growled and shoved her head underwater once more. The questioning continued, for how long she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she held under water for longer and longer each time and by the time the Jackets gave up and tossed her back with the others, her lungs were screaming with protest and she was shivering.

Eagle removed his night shirt and passed it to her. "Dry your hair. It won't help much, but its something."

She nodded rubbed her hair with the shirt. She hated RTI with a passion, but she figured it wasn't any worse than anything else she'd ever been through. After her hair was dry, she tossed the shirt down on the floor and sat down against the wall, staring at the door. Wolf was silent, Fox had been taken when she had been tossed in, and Eagle had yet to be questioned.

All they had to do was make it till morning, but that seemed so far away when it came to RTI.

But morning did eventually come and the team was released, bruised and battered, and extremely pissed off. As per usual after RTI, they had the rest of the day off to rest and recover. Gwendolyn fell face first into her bed and quickly fell asleep. Her dreams were peaceful for once, not the nightmares that usually plagued her.

She awoke to loud snores and groaned, burying her head under her pillow, but that did nothing to stop the noise.

"SHUT UP!" she snapped throwing a shoe at Eagle's head and hitting her mark.

"Ow!" Eagle whined, sitting up. "What was that for?"

"You snore louder than a bulldozer!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Both of you shut up!" Wolf snarled, glaring at them.

The two glared at one another and fell silent. Eagle muttered under his breath and laid back down while Gwen huffed and rolled onto her side to face the wall, closing her eyes in an attempt to fall back asleep. Ben chuckled from where he sat reading atop his bunk.

So this was what blossoming romance looked like.

_A/N: Thanks to _**fanfic1892**, **BookWorm1357**, **xxNightxAngelxx**, **and Anonymous 3 **_for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks to _**SapphireBlueSea **and **oreoswithoutmilk** _for adding this story to their favorites. Thanks to_ **xxNightxAngelxx**, **tsalyah**, **pokes**, **SapphireBlueSea**, **Maybelline98**, and _**Froggy7698**__ for adding this story to their alerts._

_Glad you guys are liking the story so far! And xxNightxAngelxx, you're right. There is a bit of Alex in Gwen. Like the overwhelming need to mock the people who have capture you. And the snaky attitude. And the sarcasm. And everything else, haha. _

_Please drop a review! All feed back is appreciated._

_Oh, and when Ikuto speaks Japanese at the beginning, he's saying, "A pleasure, as always, Gwendolyn."_

_~NS_


	3. Journey into the Woods

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider**

**Chapter Three**

She was so ready to leave Brecon Beacons and go home that it wasn't even funny. If she had to deal with Eagle for one more day, she was going to strangle with something. She wasn't sure what, but she was a spy and she knew how to be creative. Though she had a feeling Ben knew what she was thinking and anything she could have used had mysteriously disappeared from K-Units hut.

"Wolf?"

"What Eagle?"

"I'm bored."

"Go run the assault course."

"But it's our weekend off."

"Then go into town."

"By myself?"

"On second thought, annoy Pup."

"Touch me, Eagle, and you die."

Eagle winced. "Fox, she's threatening me again."

"Your own fault for dying the tips of her hair pink."

"It was a harmless prank."

"My hair does look cute with the pink at the end," Gwen spoke up, but she was frowning. "But now everyone is calling me Princess. I hate being called Princess."

"Just cut the pink off."

"Nah, I like having an excuse to beat people up."

"You're a horribly cruel person," Eagle muttered.

"On second thought, go into town."

"Wolf, you really want him driving your car into town?" Fox asked.

"No, Pup will go with him and make sure he doesn't destroy my car."

"Why do I have to go?"

"I said so."

Gwen snorted. "Yeah… No."

"You go and you can buy whatever candy you want."

Gwen grinned. "Really?"

"Just don't let the Sarge see you sneaking it in."

"Give me some money, then," Gwen said, holding out her hand.

Wolf grumbled but complied, handing her some money to spend at the store. She smiled and shoved it in her pocket. She turned to Eagle with a sigh. Maybe she could conveniently leave him in town and drive back to BB without realizing he wasn't there.

"Don't even think about it," Fox ordered as the pair headed for the door.

_Bloody Fox and his mind reading, _Gwen cursed under her breath before trying to look innocent. He didn't buy it.

Halfway through the drive, Gwen was ready for the car to crash so she could die in giant fiery ball of flames. Eagle's singing - and that was putting it very nicely - was driving her crazy. She wondered why he was singing bloody Disney songs, but if he didn't knock it off-

"_A WHOLE NEW WOOOOORRRRLLLDDDD!_"

"SHUT UP!"

"A NEW FANTASTIC -"

"EAGLE, I AM WARNING YOU!"

"NO ONE TO-"

She smacked him over the back of the head, and he yelped, barely managing to keep from swerving into the next lane.

"Hey, I'm driving here!"

"Stop singing and focus on the driving," Gwen grumbled. This would be a very long drive into town - she would spend the next four hours in a car with Eagle, and she could not guarantee he would be alive by the time they got back to camp. Thankfully, Eagle seemed to calm down after that and about two and a half hours in, Gwen pulled out her cell phone, dialing one of only four numbers on the contacts list.

"_Hey, sis._"

Gwen grinned. "Alex! How's life?"

"_Would be better without the CIA babysitting me. Honestly, Gwen, what did you do this time?"_

"I didn't do anything."

"_Except get captured._"

"You're one to talk, you got captured a lot," Gwen argued. "At least you don't have to live with _Eagle_."

Alex laughed. "_Have you killed him yet?"_

"No, Ben took away anything I could use to kill him. It's not fair."

Alex snorted and Eagle looked offended.

"I'm not that bad!"

"_Was that Eagle?"_

"Yeah, he and I are driving into town. Wolf gave me money for candy."

It was silent for a moment. _"Please tell me that Eagle is not driving the car."_

"Er - Eagle's not driving the car?"

"_Oh brilliant,_" Alex replied sarcastically. "_Top notch lying skills there, Miss Teenage Spy."_

Gwen shrugged, but her lips twitched into a smile. "So… Eagle dyed the tips of my hair pink."

"_How many SAS soldiers have you killed?"_

"I haven't killed anyone!" she laughed. "But I did send Dingo to the medical tents with a cracked rib. He called me a Princess. Again."

"_And Eagle is still alive?"_

"He gave me an excuse to beat up on people," Gwen said and she heard Alex's chuckle. "So I let him off the hook."

"_Did you? Or is it because you have a crush on him?"_

Gwen gave an indignant sputter. "I have better tastes than that! I'd sooner date Fox!"

"_Well, he is the same age as Eagle…"_

"Oh, bugger off, Alex," Gwen muttered. "I do not have a crush on anyone."

"_That's not what Ben says…"_

"Ben is dead."

Alex laughed, and Eagle snorted.

"Ben is dead? That's a new one," Eagle said a few minutes later after Gwen and Alex had finished talking. "What did he do? Pocket a pair of your granny -"

She punched him in the arm and sighed, unsure if she could handle two more hours in a car with Eagle without pushing him out the door as they drove down the highway. She was never so happy to see other people - normal people. As soon as Eagle parked the car in front of the store, she was out the door and running toward the store.

"Hey, Gwen, wait for me!" Eagle called after.

"You're a slowpoke, Matt!"

Once inside the store, Gwen and Matt walked through the food section, grabbing snacks and candy that they would easily be able to hide in their hut. Gwen somehow managed to drag him toward the game section, and with a lot of pleading and puppy dog eyes, she left the store with a 3DS and a copy of the new Pokemon game, POKEMON X. Matt grumbled about having to spend all his money on the toy, but cheered when she offered to share it with him.

On the drive back, Gwen played the game, which had captured her interest. She had played some of the Pokemon games on an old Gameboy once - yellow version was her favorite - and she had stolen Alex's DS Lite once to play his Platinum version. Eagle, surprisingly, wasn't singing this time, but he was humming. She recognized the tune and subconsciously began to whisper the words to her favorite Disney songs, A Star Is Born.

Eagle was surprised.

"You can sing?"

Gwen shot him an offended look. "Yes. Why?"

"You just never struck me as the type."

She glared at him and he quickly changed the subject, asking which of the starters she had chosen.

"I always pick the fire type the first time I play through it, so I got the fire one," she answered, turning her attention back to the game.

"Why?"

"Because Alex always hated the fire starters, he always picked the grass starters."

"You two are all kinds of weird."

Gwen shrugged, her eyes carefully reading the text on the game screen. She snickered slightly, but continued on with what she was doing.

"What?"

"Oh, this weirdo I just met in the game, guy wears a pink suit and calls himself Mr. Bonding."

"What's so funny about that?"

"You'll see when you play it later."

Eagle shrugged. "Okay."

"I was in choir at school, I wasn't the best - that was Mandy, my best friend - but I was okay," Gwen said after she had saved the game and turned it off. Eagle nodded.

"You like Disney movies?"

"Name one girl who grew up watching them that doesn't still like one or two of them."

"Did you ever see _Tangled_?"

She shook her head. "I was on a mission at the time."

"Which one?"

"The one where I posed as that one guy's girlfriend," Gwen shrugged. "It was weird. Apparently, someone was trying to kill him. I stopped them. End of story."

Her phone rang again. She glanced at the number and her brow furrowed. She didn't know that number, but not answering would be rude.

"Hello?"

"_This is the Royal and General Bank; we would like you to come in to discuss a problem with your account -"_

Gwen frowned and hung up.

"Who -"

"Salesman."

Eagle's face told her that he didn't believe her.

**-SS-**

Just when things had been starting to look up, Wolf decided he was sick of Gwen and Eagle trying to kill each other. Not to mention the constant childish arguments. So he decided, along with the Sergeant - who was sick of hearing Wolf, Fox, and Snake complaining - that the pair of arguing friends would been sent out into the woods and make the six day hike to a safe house where they would be flown back to SAS camp. Eagle was horrified, and Gwen began plotting where to hide his body. The two packed what they could take, six canteens between them, a bag of food (Wolf thought he saw Gwen sneak some candy, but said nothing about it), a first aid kit (Snake insisted - he apparently did not trust the pair of them to not get injured), and received a lecture from Fox about not killing one another.

They had been hiking for around four hours when Eagle noticed something was off.

"Uh, Pup?"

"Yes?" Gwen asked, swatting at a mosquito the size of a small dog.

"We have a small problem."

She turned slowly to glare at him. "What is it?"

"I kinda forgot one of the bags."

She gritted her teeth together. "Which one?"

"Uh, well, the one with all of our food."

"Oh," Gwen stared at him. "Eagle, that bag had four of the canteens and the second tent in it."

"Yeah."

"You're sleeping outside."

He sighed. "I figured. Do you know anything about edible plants?"

"Do I look like Snake to you?"

"Well…"

A rock hit his head and he grumbled, rubbing the now throbbing spot.

_How on earth do Ben and Alex think I could have a crush on someone so… so… _Gwen's mind worked frantically trying to find the right word. _Oh well, I suppose Eagle will be Eagle._

She sighed. "Actually, I may not know much about edible plants, but I know about some berries. If we can find them, that is."

"Hey!" Eagle knelt next to some plant Gwen couldn't even guess the name of. "I've seen this in Snake's books. I think it's edible."

"Think? That's not good enough," Gwen shook her head. "Better not to risk it, because believe it or not, it would suck if you died. Things would be so much more boring around here."

Eagle hid his surprise. "Yeah. It'd suck if you died, too."

Gwen shook her head. "Come on, we can still make it a bit farther before it starts to get dark."

Eagle nodded his agreement and the two continued walking in a peaceful quiet, something that rarely happened when the two of them were involved.

"So, how's Cub?"

"He loves America, mostly because MI6 can't really reach him there anymore."

"Have they tried to contact you?"

"No!" she snapped.

"They have, haven't they? Was that who called last weekend when we were driving back?"

She glared at the ground as she walked before sighing. "Maybe."

"Tell me about Scorpia again?"

"Eagle, I've told you the stories at least four times already," Gwen answered.

He pouted. "Please?"

"Why?"

"Because it's a nice story."

"Nice?" she gave a bitter laugh. "Sure it is. That's why it ends in an assassination attempt on my brother and I."

"No one said it wasn't a little morbid."

She couldn't hold back a small laugh - a genuine laugh. "That's one way of putting it. I would have also accepted crazy or insane."

"You know, you have quite a temper," he said. "As someone who's been on the receiving end, I thought I'd point that out."

Gwen glanced back at him and grinned. "I have a temper? Maybe just a bit, but nothing compared to Jack."

A dark, faraway look seemed to come into her eyes.

"Who's Jack?"

"She's - she was - our housekeeper, she took care of Cub and I after our Uncle Ian died," Gwen said softly. "He, ah, he worked for MI6, which is kinda how Alex and I got roped into it. We didn't believe he'd died in an actual car accident. They told us he hadn't worn his seatbelt, but, Uncle Ian was kinda crazy strict about seatbelts. So Alex went to the junkyard. Uncle Ian's car was covered in bullet holes."

"And that's when Alex got pulled into Stormbreaker?"

Gwen nodded. "I was pulled into Jay's Wing at the time."

"Jay's Wing?"

"Yeah, stupid name, that has absolutely nothing to do with the actual evil plan except for the fact that the drug was called Jay," Gwen sighed. "Some drug lord who hated kids thought it'd be nice to alter the drug. He was going to use it to brain wash the kids who used Jay."

"Would it have worked?" Eagle asked, looking a bit incredulous.

"Probably not, but better safe than sorry."

The rest of day one passed by peacefully enough, and as night started to approach, Eagle was nice enough to put up the tent for Gwen to sleep in. He spent the entire time complaining about how she was wimpy for wanting to sleep in the tent anyway. Apparently, he thought it would be better to sleep under the stars. Well, they'd see who the wimp was if Eagle woke up with any unwanted friends in his sleeping bag.

It was day five by that the trouble began. Gwen had woken up to find Eagle gone - and the she'd found him stuck up in a tree. He said he had been trying to find food, though why he would be looking up in a tree was beyond her. After going up after him and not so nicely helping him down - Eagle swore up and down that if she ever tried to push him out of a tree again, she'd pay - Gwen and Eagle continued on, anger coming off both of them in waves.

"I hear a stream," Gwen said after close to an hour.

Eagle paused. "I don't hear anything. Quit being dumb and let's keep walking."

Gwen bristled. "Go ahead if you want. I want water."

"Fine."

Gwen glared at him as he continued walking before sighing and heading in the direction she thought she'd heard the sound of water coming from. She walked for quite awhile, and even began to think Eagle was right about her imagining things, but then she found the stream.

"Aha! Take that, Eagle," she muttered with a grin.

She raised herself on her tiptoes and glanced upstream to make sure there was nothing lying dead in the water; the last thing she wanted was to get sick. Opening the canteen, she filled nearly full before screwing the cap back on. She was turning for the bag, when she realized Eagle still had it. Which meant her had the purifying tablets. She quickly ran back to where she and Eagle had split and started walking in the direction she'd seen him going.

"Eagle!" she shouted, hoping he would hear her. "Eagle, wait up!"

No voice answered her call and she frowned.

"Eagle!"

She jumped at a booming noise and glanced up warily at the gathering storm clouds.

_Oh, no._

She could feel the shiver travel down her spine. She hated storms. She hated them with a passion. She could remember the kids in school that made fun of her for being scared of thunder, but she couldn't help it. She quickly darted into the trees and out of the field she'd been walking through as she tried to find Eagle. She slid down one of the trunks to sit on the ground, the raindrops already beginning to fall. She flinched at another boom and thunder and pulled her knees up, laying her forehead against them and taking deep breaths. She urged her mind to think of something else - anything else - besides the storm.

_I wonder what's going on at camp… Wolf's probably having a nice vacation without Eagle and I there, _she thought with a snort, but could feel the tears burning in her eyes as the thunder got louder and more frequent.

**-SS-**

Eagle swore as he turned on his heel to walk back and find Gwen. He would have thought she'd have caught up to him by now. It was raining, and they would need to find somewhere to set up camp until the storm paced. He figured neither of them would want to continue hiking in this kind of weather, even if he found storms soothing, he couldn't stand being soaked by the rain.

"Pup!" he shouted, hoping she could hear him over the storm. "Pup!"

He listened carefully, but there was no answer.

"GWEN!"

No answer.

Eagle sighed and kept walking. He almost passed her, but had it not been for a soft sob escaping her lips as he walked by, he wouldn't have seen her. She had curled in on herself; head buried against her arms and completely soaked. He reached out slowly to help her up.

"Jeez, Gwen, you okay? Are you hurt?"

She shook her head as he checked her over for injuries.

"Then what - are you scared of storms?" he had to hold back a small chuckle.

"What? No! That's ridiculous!" Gwen protested, wiping at her eyes.

"You are!"

"Eagle…"

"Here, stay here while I set up the tent."

It only took him fifteen minutes to set up the tent. After her had, he gently nudged her, passing her some dry clothes.

"Go change before you get sick," he said, and she took the clothes gratefully. "Snake would murder me if you get sick."

While she went in the tent to change into dry clothes, he tried - and failed - to scout out a dry spot to sleep.

"What are you doing?"

He turned and smiled at Gwen. "Looking for a dry place to sleep."

"Are you crazy? Get in the damn tent, Eagle," she ordered.

He grinned. "Aw, you care."

She mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Don't push your luck, Eagle," Gwen warned. "Or I will make you sleep outside."

He snorted and shed his soaked shirt, pulling on a dry one. Gwen had already crawled into her sleeping bag and had closed her eyes. It only took a few minutes for her breathing to even out as she fell into a deep sleep. Eagle paused before tossing their wet clothes outside quietly, not wanting to wake her. He lay back on his own sleeping bag, staring up at the roof of the tent. The storm outside was still raging, but Gwen slept through it.

_Scared of storms, _he held back a soft chuckle. _She's a teenage super spy who's been tortured, and nearly assassinated, and on all kinds of crazy dangerous missions, and yet she's scared of storms._

He wasn't sure how long he was laying there before her began to drift off, but he was pretty sure it had only been a couple of hours before his eyes grew heavy. He was only just about to fall asleep when the nightmares came.

_A/N: Thanks to _**xxNightxAngelxx **_and _**BookWorm1357 **_for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks to _**BookWorm1357 **_for adding this story to their favorites. And thanks to _**BookWorm1357 **_and_ **LucyReywood **_for adding this story to their alerts._

_So! Lots of Eagle and Gwen bonding and arguing this chapter. Things will really get in the main plot in the next couple of chapters as the time spent at BB ends and Gwen gets back into school once more. Oh the horror. _

_Please drop a review, it would be very appreciated, and I would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays! And have a great New Years, guys, but don't do anything I wouldn't do! :D_

_~NS_


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